Topic: Playstation 5 Recommendation Thread

@Khwarezm89 As a fan of dark fantasy, I can second a few of the ideas already noted — that being Dragon’s Dogma (I haven’t played DD2 yet but the first game was great fun in a dark-ish fantasy setting and DD2 is by all accounts better and fine to jump into without playing the first), and the Dark Souls series.

Probably you’ve considered the Dark Souls games and might be averse to the famous Souls-like gameplay style, but for a sheer setting, they are quintessential dark fantasy in that regard.

Now to add a few other ideas — I guess it’s all about whether it’s the dark fantasy setting you want, or rather the open world action RPG setting (like the HZD and AC games). Probably you’d like to have a game that fits both. If so you might consider the Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War games. Set in Tolkien’s fantasy defining LotR world, they have all the elements of orcs and evil enemies, dark setting and narrative, swordplay and magic, etc. all with a coating of Ubisoft tower open world gameplay loop. I actually never got around to Shadow of War, the second game, but it was supposed to be better than Mordor and for me Mordor was a solid 7.

But if you want a fantasy action game (not strictly dark fantasy, but..) then the God of War games are in the ballpark. Lots of monsters, swordplay, magic, etc. Not true open world and a little more linear, but have some openness within regions.

Also, if you like the AC series, then Ghost of Tsushima is an easy recommendation. Not dark fantasy, more historical fiction, but really fun and beautiful gritty open world action game.

Other open world action RPGs that are fantasy, just not necessarily “dark” fantasy, but still have monsters, bows and arrows, swords, and magic — Immortals: Fenyx Rising and Kena: Bridge of Spirits can definitely scratch an open world itch. Setting of those is more bright and cheery and even semi-humorous, despite slaying fantastical beasts.

Lastly (and I’m just looking at what I’ve played for inspiration), Final Fantasy XVI is probably the closest to ‘dark fantasy’ that the series has reached, and you’ve got your dragon-type creatures, swords and mounts, etc.

There’s probably more I’m forgetting but that’s a start. 😄

@Ravix I'm actually halfway through FFVII Rebirth and was planning to play Dragon's Dogma 2 afterwards since I'm obsessed with Dragons

Regarding Kingdom Come Deliverance I was really looking forward to play this game but I saw a lot of people talking bad about the combat system. What do you think of it?

And regarding Elden Ring, I would like to play it and really feel it would be a hell of an experience but how hard is it? I didn't play souls games before

@Yousef- Another reason that I should overcome my fears and play Souls games

Thank you!

@Th3solution Thanks for the recommendations.

I actually played Shadow of Mordor and War, I really liked them too. Same goes to FFXVI (It was my GOTY last year).

Fun fact is that FFXVI was my first Final Fantasy game and afterwards I finished FFVII Remake and now halfway through FFVII Rebirth.

Thanks a lot for reminding me about Immortals Fenyx Rising and Kena. They're on my backlog and I forgot about them but I might need to try one of them soon.

@Khwarezm89 well, dragons it has 😁

As far as Kingdom Come goes, I'd say mostly the people moaning are just bad and don't understand you have to learn to improve and unlock counter strikes etc. It's like a more in depth skyrim, where skyrim is just bashing buttons, KCD is changing your angles of attack and defense, waiting for opportunities, and managing your stamina. Of course it could be improved, but I had no real issue with it and it is refreshing to see something different, and
I enjoyed learning various combos for each weapon. And it did make it feel more like a sword fight, rather than an action film. There's a combat teacher in a few locations and visiting them enough you get a feel for what works best for you, and also allows you to unlock further skills and "level up" your abilities too. Early on a gang of people will definitely easily beat you, because that is what would happen in real life, and that is generally the mantra of the game, realism where possible. But later on you can get quite powerful, as it is still a game 😄

As for Elden Ring, I bloody loved it. It was the first (and only) fromsoft game I've ever played, and yes, it can be brutal at times, but it is also so much more forgiving than people realise. If you struggle with one enemy, you can just go off in another direction until you are better or yiur character is more powerful. The run backs are not bad, so if you die you can easily get back to where you were most of the time. And it kind of teaches you to accept death not as a failure, but as a chance to improve and enjoy the various scenarios. And beyond that there's a bunch of "easy mode" features like summoning players to help you, summoning AI controlled characters to help you, or just really levelling up your characters abilities or picking OP weapons and spells 😁

Overall, I'd not say I was ever that good at Elden Ring, but I found my own way to be good and only needed to summon help from a player for one fight vs two big bird bosses at once. And at that point I was tired anyway. The most fun I got from the game was, after beating a boss, putting my sign down to go and help others who were stuck on that boss, and being quite successful at that with the skills I'd got. My character was quite good at facing the stronger enemies, so I helped a bunch of people for most bosses.

No problem. And don’t worry, there’s little to fear. Souls games are pretty manageable.

So I'm looking to buy some horror games and there are some PS5 titles that are on sale now that I'm sort of interested in, which are:

• GYLT
• White Day
• The Chant
• Daymare: 1998

Has anyone played any of these and if so, are they worth playing?

Sooooooo, I'm going to need something to play in November, December, January 😅 before KCDII comes around, which will of course gain precedence over the now relegated to "whenever I can be bothered after KCDII" game: AC Shadows.

Any ideas? I might finally get stuck in to the Plague Tale series. Maybe play TloU PS5 update on PS Plus.

But there's a big AC Shadows shaped hole and this is the type of game I'd probably have played a few hours each evening over a couple of months 😪😅

@Ravix Have you ever tried the Yakuza series?

Also solely based on your avatar, perhaps you'd enjoy Signalis if you're into stealthy survival horror

@Gunnerzaurus played Judgment, but the endless Yakuza tracksuit thug combat just annoys me too much, and I was already bored of Kamurochō mid way though that game, unfortunately 😪

It has the dramatic storytelling paired with silliness that I enjoy, but it just makes me feel like they aren't pushing themselves to make a game that will sell absolute truckloads worldwide by limiting themselves to the old arcade style gameplay loop. And I can't bring myself to try another 😅

Never heard of it, but I don't really like survival horror. I wish I did, because I really want to play Alan Wake 2, but I know I'd ruin myself with expected tension, that kind of thing where you make the game way more stressful to play by expecting it to be really stressful or scary, even if it isn't really stressful or scary. I'm sure there's a term for it 😅 but, for example, the trailer for the DLC had a jumpscare, but it wasn't even remotely impactful, but in the game I'd be expecting it every second and thus ruin it for myself haha.

Thank you for the suggestions though. Maybe one day I will try a yakuza game again. But I'm kind of holding out in hope that one day they make a realistic open world crime game, rather than a beat em up

@Ravix I’m trying to think about what you might like…
First of all, the Plague Tale games are quite good, imho. Sort of ‘The Last of Us adjacent’, if you will, but less cinematic, more historical, and a little less polished. But they won’t keep you busy for 3 months, by any means. In fact you’d be lucky if they keep you busy for 3 weeks at a couple hours a night. I think you’ll like them though, since you like historical fiction and medieval settings.

To fill the Ubisoft AC Shadows hole in your soul you could knock out the Far Cry games, if you’ve not done all those. Or the Avatar game.

Do you play the FF7 Remake/Rebirth duo? I can’t remember. You’re not a Jrpg kinda guy, but I think you played FF16 if I recall. I haven’t played Rebirth yet but it sounds like it could take up a few months of your time.

Open world exploration game… hmm… how about Kena: Bridge of Spirits? The Gravity Rush games? The second one especially is a large exploration playground. Nier Automata? — Fantastic one, that.

The new Tomb Raider games? Less open world than an AC game, but still scratches the exploration itch.

How about No Man’s Sky? I think that’s a large time sink if you’re looking for something to burn two hours a night for 3 months.

I know you love your fantasy action action RPGs, so maybe consider Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. I enjoyed my time with that.

That’s just off the top of my head.

@Ravix maybe you’d enjoy sleeping dogs

@Th3solution can second gravity rush

@Yousef- A man who never eats pork bun is NEVER a whole man! 😂

@Yousef- @JohnnyShoulder such a good game… another one of those games that will unfortunately never get a sequel but if it did, I’d be there day one.

Stumbled on a series that has been out for a while as it goes but I hadn’t heard of until today - Skautfold. Looks like there are two games out rn (a twin stick top down shooter/slasher and a metroidvania) and a third game releasing in October.

The series looks to be set for in an alternate history Great Britain and has some good reviews. Added all three to the wish list!

@Th3solution I'm thinking a combination of:

TloU (I've seen most of the story, pretty much, and watched others play it, but never played it myself)

A Plague Tale 1 and 2 (both been sitting in my library, I started the first one, also watched some of a playthrough)

Horizon: Forbidden West. Owned it since getting my second PS5 and just never got round to it, and I didn't commit to it when I did try it.

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island. I think I've played most of the DLC, but stopped when other games I'd bought took over. And tbh, I was collecting some armour and horse armour and thought to myself, why am I doing that, there's probably only 5 hours of gameplay left 😅 I hope GoY has better side content design and more unique boss duels, feel that was the one let down of a very good game.

Hogwarts Legacy with slightly better Ray Tracing mother F***eeerrrrrrs. I left that half way through thinking the summer update would be more inspiring... it wasn't. But it's a game I like and now have a reason to get back on it in November. Cold dark nights and Harry Potter seems a good cosy bit of winter fun

@Ravix Ah, I didn’t realize you had never played TLoU. I think it’s a good one to prioritize. Then of course the sequel. I think the story is better in the first but the gameplay is better in the second, although I thoroughly enjoyed them both. The second is, of course, controversial in many ways, but there’s no questioning the absolute quality of polish that Naughty Dog puts on their games and it’s still one of the nicest looking games I’ve played on PS5 and I played the PS4 version! 😅

It would be interesting to compare-and-contrast the Plague Tale games with TLoU, even though they are vastly different in some ways. The rat mechanics are the real differentiator from a gameplay perspective. And narratively, the Hundred Years’ War setting versus Post-apocalyptic America and the Sister-brother vs Surrogate father-daughter.

I never did Iki Island, and rarely go backward to a game to do DLC. Never played Frozen Wilds either. And I’m with you on the situation with Forbidden West. I have had it downloaded on my PS5 for ages, and never seem to get to it, despite enjoying Zero Dawn.

And you know how much I liked Hogwarts Legacy, so getting back to it would be a good idea in my book. In retrospect it gets very samey and repetitive toward the last third or so, but the setting really carried me through to maintain enjoyment. Theres one or two story sections that really do stand out as exceptional and be sure to do the Hogsmeade “Minding your own business” side quest which was PS exclusive on release (now I think all versions have access to it). It’s my favorite side quest.

@Th3solution any slight lulls in Hogwarts I will just look at all of the shiny floors and be happy that they don't bug out or vanish if you move slightly. Definitely one to test out on the pro.

You should play Iki island, I reckon. I feel like people have said it is more of an ending to Jin's tale, so that could maybe be seen as an epilogue rather than DLC. Mid game DLC annoys me, or doesn't draw me in enough, especially if I have to go back to it, so I get that.

If you have decided on getting the Pro in America btw I'd suggest logging in ps direct before the queue starts, and just leave your phone or the tab open, then at some point it will refresh and by the time they go on sale you can look and you're pretty much at the front with zero effort.

Took about 4 hours to sell out here, so you'd imagine a similar proportion of consoles to expected sales in the US, so probably a similar amount of time for them to go there, too.

@Ravix Thanks for the advice on Pro. I think I’ll wait for now. My poor PS5 hasn’t seen much action lately anyway, so I don’t know that I’ll jump onboard yet.